


Rat Racing Day

by lapommedeloeil



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, One Shot, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapommedeloeil/pseuds/lapommedeloeil
Summary: The Rats are minding their own business, as usual, before Chris interrupts them. As usual.I had too much fun writing the first One-Shot so I decided to make one more before the actual story.Superpowers have yet to be explicitly stated, but there are some big clues! :)
Relationships: Beverly "B"/Dawn implied, Dakota Milton/Sam implied, Jo/Brick McArthur implied
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	Rat Racing Day

“Yes! Turkey buttalini power-up rules, hehe.”

“Come on, I was in the lead!”

“Sha-please, speak for yourself! I’m in last place!”

“Sha-moron, even Dawn is doing better than you; and she hasn’t hit anyone!”

“I refuse to use violence to gain an advantage over others.”

“Drama queen.”

Lightning’s avatar finally crosses the finish line. The results of the race pop up on the screen: Sam, obviously in first; Scott, coming in second; Dawn, surprisingly in ninth; and Lightning, in twelfth.

“That game was rigged,” Lightning spits with disbelief, “I bet there’s a glitch in it or something.” Scott rolls his eyes out of sheer irritation before mulling over the next track. Sam turns to Dakota, who sits to the left of him, scrolling on her phone.

“Hey Dakota, any feed from Chris?” Sam inquires. He isn’t actually concerned if Chris needs them or not. He mostly asks as an excuse to talk to her.

“No, not since you asked me five minutes ago…” Dakota doesn’t look up from her phone; too immersed in her digital haven. Appearing rude isn’t her intention, but her phrasing and lack of eye contact don't help. Sam awkwardly nods and turns back to the TV after coming up with nothing else to say. B silently enters through the double doors on the opposite end of the room. His clothes are stained with grease spots here and there; having just come from working in the garage. Dawn senses his presence and moves from her spot on the end of the couch, leaving space for him.

“B, would you like to try racing?” Dawn holds out her controller for him. B accepts it and gives her a ‘thank you’ nod. Scott finally finds a course that catches his eye; Ezekiel’s Abandoned Mine.

* * *

“Hey! That was totally uncalled for!”

“Excellent job, B!”

“How did you do that so sha-easily?”

B shrugs. The results appearing once again: Sam, to no one’s surprise, still in first; B, to the boys’ shock, coming in second; Scott, not far behind in fourth; and Lightning, still in dead last.

“Okay now I know this game is messing with me,” Lightning fumes. “Lightning never comes in second, let alone last place!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Scott sneers next to him. Before Lightning can retaliate, an alarm blares from Dakota’s phone. An incoming caller shows up on the TV screen. Chris McLean; to be exact.

Dakota hesitantly hits ‘accept’ on her mobile device, and Chris’s face is displayed on the TV. He looks as suave and unctuous as ever.

“Hello, Rats! I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Chris chuckles to himself, secretly hoping he is. The teens are more than fed up with Chris’ strange fascination of messing with them.

“Just give us the rundown already!” Scott’s patience is at an all-time low.

“Yeesh, I was going to…but now I don’t feel like it.” Chris’s finger travels toward the ‘end call’ button near the bottom of the screen.

“No, wait!” Dawn jumps up from her seat, in an attempt to persuade Chris to stay. “Scott didn’t mean to be so snippy.” Dawn casts a glare Scott’s way. If there was one person that could legitimately vex Dawn; it was Scott. “Please continue.” Dawn’s sweet plea manages to convince Chris.

“Here are the basics: there is a giant monster on the west side, ravaging the commercial businesses.” The video of Chris cuts to a live feed of a massive monster causing terror. “For this mission your task is to take down the monster and shrink it to the size of a hamster with a ray gun. It’s in the package I sent for you this morning.”

“Alright! Lightning’s ready to strike, sha-bam!” Lightning shoots up- a little too quickly- off the couch to retrieve the package. Scott goes after him; afraid that Lightning will accidentally set off the gun in the base. It is Lightning after all.

“Oh, and one more thing…” Chris’s dramatic pause seems purposely longer than usual, “I already contacted the Maggots; and considering their base on the west end, I would suggest moving quickly if you want to catch up…huh, it looks like they already beat you there.”

The screen switches back to live feed; the Maggots arrive at the scene. They all turn to each other in a heated debate on their first move. Chris’ laughter providing background noise.

“Good luck; McLean, out!” The screen switches back to the game. Sam grabs the remote and shuts off the TV. Scott and Lightning return through the double doors. Lightning holds the ray gun, but his movements appear controlled, almost mechanical. Following him is Scott who smirks at his work.

“Come on guys, we have to go!” Sam runs past Scott and Lightning, towards the garage. Everyone follows behind, moving at a slower pace.

Sam presses on the garage opener, and sunlight streams in, revealing the team’s signature truck: The Tailblazer. B gets in and starts the truck, Scott sits shotgun as usual; which leaves Sam, Dawn, and Lightning in the backseats. Dakota lounges in cargo bed, still on her phone.

B drives out on the road and towards a highway that leads deeper into the city.

“Can’t you go any faster?” Scott growls. Dawn is really getting tired of Scott’s attitude.

“B, you’re doing just fine. Scott, at least try to be a little tolerable.”

“Excuse me, Fairy Princess for wanting us to get there before the Maggots can finish the job.”

Behind Scott, Lightning still holds the gun, seemingly stuck in a daze. His pupils are dilated and a bit of drool slides down his chin.

“Guys, even if we get there in time, there’s no way we’re gonna beat the Maggots with all this arguing!” Sam cries out. “Our lack of teamwork is why the Maggots have a lead over us in the first place!”

A wave of silence washes over the car as everyone reflects on Sam’s words. The Rats have had chemistry issues from the beginning. Ever since Chris had assembled their team, they’ve never really gotten along. Sure, at first, they assumed after a while they would all get used to each other and set aside their differences; but that moment has yet to come. It’s already been about a year and they show no signs of compliancy. How could they? They were all so vastly different from each other. Morals, perspectives, and interests. There was some overlap, of course, but not enough to impact the team as a whole. Unlike the Maggots.

The Maggots seem to show time and time again how much of a threat they are. The chemistry of their team seems shocking when compared to the Rats. Granted, the Maggots still have their faults, as far as the Rats could tell: Brick and Jo bickering over leadership, Anne Maria’s overreliance on her hair, not to mention the tension Mike’s morphing unintentionally causes his team. Despite all this and possibly more, the Maggots still manage to set aside their issues in the heat of things.

There’s only a year left until their training is complete. Until a team will be chosen. If the Rats want any chance of staying, they really need to start working as a team. Easier said than done.

“You’re absolutely right, Sam.” Dawn’s tender voice breaks the silence. “Scott, I apologize for getting frustrated with you. I only ask of you, please attempt to be more empathetic to others in the future.”

Scott lets out a “tch” noise and rests his head against the glass, staring out his window. Dawn lets out a sigh of defeat and stares out her window, too. Sam glances over at Lightning for the first time since getting in the car.

“Uh, Scott?”

“What now, Sam?!” Scott whips his head around, and scowls at Sam.

“Could you let Lightning go now?”

Everyone looks over at Lightning, who is still in a trance-like state. Scott swipes the gun from Lightning’s hands and turns back around. A second later, Lightning blinks wildly and shakes his head; he uses the back of his hand to wipe the drool off his face.

“Sha-what? When did we get in the truck?” Lightning looks around, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Before anyone can clarify his predicament, they hear screams of terror as the ground beneath them shakes. B slams down on the gas pedal and takes a sharp left turn; causing everyone to brace themselves. Dakota gets thrown against the right side of the bed; having been too distracted by her phone.

“Hey! Take it easy!” Dakota’s muffled cries are drowned out by the chaos. B parks at the end of the turn. Everyone rushes out of the vehicle. Sam runs to the back to help Dakota out. Meanwhile, their teammates are baffled by the scene playing out in front of them.

A gigantic green monster looms over the crowd, about as tall as the skyscrapers surrounding it. It roars viciously at the Maggots, who are in the process of taking it down. Zoey flies around the monster’s head, carrying Mike in the wind behind her. They wave their arms and shout insults to provide a distraction. Cameron and Jo stand on the sidelines, away from the action. Brick runs up to Cameron and hands him two long cords. Cameron holds one in each arm and contemplates for a moment before handing Brick the seemingly stronger one. Brick nods to him and runs toward the monster. While the monster swats at Zoey and Mike, Anne Maria runs to its feet. Her hair un-poufs and wraps around the monster’s ankles. Zoey zooms down to Brick and grabs one end of the cord; she brings Mike in front of the monster. It swipes at him with both hands; Zoey swoops in and swiftly ties the cord around its wrists. Zoey and Mike float over to Cameron, who congratulates them on their job well done. Jo runs over to Brick and takes the cord from him.

“Join the rest of the team, soldier!” Jo commands. Brick salutes her and joins the others. Jo backs up before pulling hard on the cord. The monster tries to keep itself upright, but Jo’s strength begins to tip it forward. Cameron sees her miscalculation, however.

“Jo! Farther! Back up farther!” Cameron cups his hands to his mouth, projecting as loud as he can, but it’s no use. Jo is too focused to hear him. The monster finally loses balance and falls forward. Cameron, Zoey, and Mike panic but before they can do anything, Brick sprints towards Jo.

Time seems to move in slow motion for everyone. The monster’s shadow looms over Jo as she realizes she is done for. She braces herself for impact; her knuckles turning white from the intense grip on the cord. She’s too focused on waiting for the inevitable that she doesn’t see Brick shove her out of the way. The ground shakes when the monster is finally taken down. A cloud of dust washes over the road.

“Jo! Brick!” Zoey screams when the cloud passes, and both are nowhere in sight.

“Quick!” Anne Maria yells from the monster’s feet. “Use the gun! If they didn’t make it out, we need to shrink this thing now before they’re totally gone!”

Cameron takes out the gun and runs over to the monster, Mike follows not far behind him with a cage. Cameron fires the gun and the monster bellows as it shrinks and shrinks and shrinks; down to the size of a hamster. Anne Maria’s hair is still wrapped tightly around the (now small) monster’s ankles. A few strands reach around its wrists and untie the cord. Mike unlocks the cage for Anne Maria. The strands drop the monster in the cage before returning to her pouf. Mike locks the cage, and for a moment everyone is relieved. Only a moment.

“Where’s Jo and Brick?” Cameron asks, seeing that weren’t trapped under the monster. They all look around for a few moments before Mike cries out.

“There!”

Sure enough, on the other side of the street, are Brick and Jo. Safe and sound. Well, mostly.

Brick was coming to his senses, the pain from the fall finally easing up a bit. Pushing his upper body off the ground, he forces his eyes open. It takes a few seconds for them to refocus as his attention is drawn to a voice coming from below him.

“Hey, Dampy Pants.” Brick’s vision clears enough to find Jo trapped underneath him. She has her arms crossed as she glares him in the eyes. “I’m not a football.” It takes a moment for Brick’s mind to register their current predicament.

“Sorry, Jo.” He looks a mix of flustered and scared as he pulls away. He holds out a hand to her; which she accepts with an eye roll and hoists herself off the ground.

“Did we get him?” Jo spits out, grabbing the right side of her skull.

“Unfortunately.”

Jo and Brick turn to their left to see the Rats walking over. The rest of the Maggot rush over to them.

“It’s not our fault that you didn’t get here in time, Scott,” Mike fires back, “When are you gonna stop blaming us for your losses?” Scott looks like he is about to fight back but Dawn stops him.

“Please excuse Scott’s mood, he was already provoked earlier today. Jo, Brick, are you alright?”

“We’ll be okay, thanks Dawn.” Brick assures her, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Just dandy, Nature Nut.” Jo’s hand still stuck to her head, a small scowl forming thanks to the pain.

Dakota’s phone breaks through the short interaction. Everyone crowds around her, knowing the drill. Dakota taps on the screen and a hologram of Chris projects from the camera. 

“Congratulations team Maggot! Your victory sets the score at 30-21, Maggots. Chef will come by your base later to pick up the monster as protocol.” Everyone on the Maggot team seems ecstatic about another win, but most of them keep quiet for the Rats’ sake. Most of them.

“Aw, yeah! Maggots rule!” Anne Maria exclaims, high-fiving Jo. Everyone knows that Jo would never turn down the opportunity to gloat. There is one thing Jo can’t resist: shoving her victory in someone’s face.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Who’s the better team? We’re the better team!”

“Jo!” Brick exclaims. He isn’t so much shocked, more or less he expected better of her.

“Oh, come on, Brickhouse! You know the Rats would do the same if they were us.”

“Ahem,” Chris interrupts, “I have something very important to discuss with you all. If you didn’t realize it, next week Friday officially marks one year since you have come to Wawanakwa. I’m sure you all remember the tests you took when you got here.”

Everyone groans. Scott wonders if this day will ever end.

"Don't tell me-"

“That’s right! You’ll be spending another week retaking those tests. We’re checking on your progress to see how much you each have grown in your skills and abilities. You’re not going anywhere, Chef and I will come to you, just like last time. We start Monday two weeks from now. We’ll alternate teams every other day. Maggots, Monday and Wednesday; and Rats, Tuesday and Thursday. You’ll face off one-on-one with a person from the opposing team Friday. Pairs will be made based on your results. Be up and ready to go at 9:00 am. McLean, out!” The hologram dissipates and Dakota pockets her phone.

“I look forward to seeing you all again during testing. Good luck, soldiers!” Brick extends his hand out to the Rats; ever the gentlemen. Dawn gladly accepts his encouragement.

“Yeah, you’re gonna need it.” Jo mutters under her breath.

“Lightning doesn’t need luck! Lightning’s gonna win sha-easy peasy!”

“Not unless Chris throws in an IQ test,” Scott trudges off to The Tailblazer, “Come on, let’s get back to the base. This whole day has been a big waste of time.” Lightning follows shortly after. Sam walks beside Dakota. Dawn and B nod to the Maggots before joining their teammates.

Jo was about to rub more salt in the wound when Brick gives her a ‘they’ve been through enough today’ look. Jo rolls her eyes; deciding she is, for once, too tired to start another debate. Speaking of wounds.

“Jo, you’ll probably need an ice pack for your head when we get back home,” Brick advises, “just to help reduce swelling.”

“Relax, G.I. Joke, I’m-” she whips her head to the side a little too quickly, causing the wound to throb. _So much for defending my pride_ she thought.

“Fine, have it your way.”

“It’s not every day that I get to hear you say that.”

“Don't patronize me, Cadet Meat.

“As you wish, ma’am!”

**Author's Note:**

> I swear this is the last one before the actual plot-filled version. I know this one was supposed to be more about the Rats but when it comes to writing about the Maggots I just can't help myself. 
> 
> I wanted to find a videogame mentioned in the actual show but sometimes you just don't find one. So I decided to tweak Mario Kart. Who doesn't like Mario Kart? Plus, I thought it would be cute to reference A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste and The Treasure Island of Dr. McLean. I also wanted to have them fight more of a mutant like Larry, but I don't know, I just love the giant monster from TDA. And I feel like leaving Larry for a more intense battle later was the better choice. Feel free to comment or ask any questions!


End file.
